Man's Daughter Paints His Face Like A Cat - VIDEO

Every now and then, I see some heartfelt essay or another go viral on my Facebook feed about saying "yes" to your kids more frequently. There are a few in circulation, it seems, but the sentiment is always the same: We have to say "no" so much as parents out of sheer necessity that sometimes it just becomes reflex. So, the essays urge, actually contemplate why you're saying no and be willing to say yes more. Be spontaneous! Be fun! But, as demonstrated by this video of a father having his face painted like a cat by his daughter, sometimes there are reasons we say no.

Look, I'll level with you: it's fun to imagine being the Yes Mom. You just imagine yourself carefree and unpretentiously beautiful as you laugh and twirl with your child in reckless abandon. The falling sun of the late afternoon burns your shadows long on the ground and creates a halo around each of you. In your mind, you look like a picture someone writes a quote over in a beautiful font, sticks up on Pinterest, and then shares to Facebook. But then the reality quickly strikes and it's like "Look, dude, I also think it would be a lot of fun to jump in that puddle, but I have the foresight and ability to learn from experience that you lack, so I know this is ultimately a bad idea. For starters, your sneakers will get wet, which will immediately make you freak out. Then you will frantically try to take off your shoes, and in so doing, sit in aforementioned puddle, which will get your pants wet, and then you'll try to take those off just as the neighbors walk by, and I'll stand there looking like a chump as you scream, trying to cover you up while balancing your sister on one hip, and I really have to get inside and start cooking dinner, but now I have to clean up the wet dirty water you track through the kitchen. No. This is a crap plan. A million times no."

So, to all children—those still young and those now grown—please just trust us. We know what we're talking about. If it were up to you, we'd all be eerily painted cat people, just like in the video below...

By the way: so much of parenting can be summed up in this moment.

Images: YouTube (2)